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Canada is scrapping a plan to buy 18 Boeing Super Hornet fighter jets amid a deepening dispute with the U.S. aerospace company, three sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Instead, the Liberal government will announce next week it intends to acquire a used fleet of older Australia F-18 jets, the same kind of plane Canada currently operates, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation.

While this makes more sense than an interim fleet of Super Hornet's, unless the RCAF is simply planning on using these planes for spares, it does not make a lot of sense to me. If we plan on flying them, I'm sure the RAAF will be retiring the most worn F/A-18A's first, and they will have to undergo modifications to bring them up to the same avionics package as the current CF-18s.

At this point, if Canada persists with not buying the F-35, and since it's now "at war" with Boeing, all that's left are Typhoons or Rafales, wether they like them or not.

Or T-50s...

The Liberals have softened on the F-35 to the point where they've stated Lockheed will be allowed to enter the F-35 in the new fighter competition scheduled for 2019. I think the final decision on the new fighter will be far enough down the road from their 2015 election promises regarding not buying the F-35 that they will think it is politically viable. Which is in fact why I think they are buying used Hornets and delaying the competition and selection.

This all assumes they will get re-elected in 2019, which I think is unfortunately a given at this time.

Now that the ITC has ruled against Boeing, the company may file an appeal within 30 days with the Court of International Trade. Aerospace industry attorney William Perry told Leeham News that that court rarely overturns an ITC decision, so this appears to be a path to nowhere.

For procedural reasons, Boeing cannot appeal to the World Trade Organization.

Interesting that Boeing was a no-show for the information session, but I bet it was just a shot at the government who is now firmly backed into a corner for the upcoming fighter competition (after promising not to buy the F-35), but I'm very confident Boeing still makes a pitch for the Super Hornet.